January 28, 2013

Scholarships now available for interactive media, gaming

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It's been a long-standing, vexing problem for the local interactive media sector: The Puget Sound area has plenty of companies that need game designers and computer engineers, and countless job seekers who'd love to break into this business they've loved ever since they first picked up a Game Boy as toddlers.

The catch? There are still not enough people with the right amount of training and business skills to fill the positions. In some cases, people are motivated to get this training but have not been able to afford a college degree, or have had trouble breaking into what is an extremely white- and male-dominated culture.

The Washington Interactive Network (WIN) is trying to bridge a small part of these financial, gender and racial gaps by offering a few scholarships for people to learn the high-tech skills that the gaming industry demands. Starting this month, WIN is offering one $10,000 scholarship and two $5,000 scholarships that will be awarded to women or minorities who are currently pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees in interactive media development, computer science, engineering or game design.

These scholarships — to be funded by the Economic Development Council (EDC) of Seattle and King County and the Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge — will be available for at least three years. The deadline for applications is April 1, and the grant money will be distributed to the chosen students on Aug. 15 and Dec. 30.

"Despite a struggling economy, jobs and revenue are still growing in the interactive media sector, and a qualified workforce is still the number one reason why companies locate and grow in our region," WIN's executive director Kristina Hudson said in a press release. "It is imperative that we encourage students to pursue degrees in STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] and technology-related fields in order to maintain this growth in such a dynamic industry."

While the odds of landing these scholarships are steep, participation is expected to be enthusiastic considering the advantages such grant money may bring. According to an infographic researched and created by Big Fish Games, one of the leading game developers in the region, Washington state's average annual salary of just under $90,000 for gaming industry positions is second only to California's average of about $93,700 per year.

A WIN study released in early 2012 found that interactive media jobs rose 14 percent in the Puget Sound region and 33 percent in the city of Seattle (excluding Microsoft) over the preceding five years. Currently, WIN says, there are about 350 interactive media firms that have a $400 million impact on the Puget Sound economy, employing between 16,500 and 17,500 people.

For more information about submitting an application, visit the scholarship guidelines page on the WIN site.

Randy Woods writes about job-search tools, networking techniques and other tips to help you land your dream job.

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education, engineering, gaming, scholarships, software, technology, training, video